The Scarlet Raiders came into the game 9-0, receiving votes in this week’s D3Hoops.com National Top 25 poll. Included in Rutgers-Newark’s early season run was a 93-87 win over Farmingdale State, the defending Skyline Conference champion and preseason pick to finish ahead of the Valiants in the league.
“It’s a huge win for us,” Head Coach Pat Scanlon said. “We always try to play the best schedule we can and take advantage of opportunities to play against great teams on our home court. We battled every possession, the bench stepped up and we got a very good win.”
Chisolm buried three three-pointers in the first half on his way to 14 points and piled up seven assists and six rebounds in the second half to lead the Valiant charge. The junior guard finished the night with team-highs of 19 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals, knocking in a team-leading four three-pointers. The two-time All-Conference honoree did all of his damage on only 12 shots and had just three turnovers in 39 minutes.
“Donte was terrific,” Scanlon said. “He’s always been capable of playing against the best players and teams in Division III and for the first time he stepped up against a big time opponent. And I thought the best thing he showed tonight was his leadership, calming the team down when we needed it.”
Classmate Cody Moffett also enjoyed a solid night, scoring 18 points and chipping in three rebounds and four assists. Moffett scored 14 of his points in the second half, including a key three-pointer to cap a 13-0 Manhattanville run midway through the period.
Down 59-51 with 13:43 to go after entering the second half tied, the Valiants rattled off a quick spurt off a timeout. The run was book ended by three-pointers and covered only 3:34. Moffett and Chisolm each scored five points during the run, building the hosts a 64-59 lead they would not relinquish despite constant pressure from the Scarlet Raiders.
John DiBetta, who missed most of the Valiants’ run at the Adidas Desert Shootout in Las Vegas with an injury, scored 11 points in his return and was joined in double-figures by Brian Fink who scored 10 points. Manhattanville shot 50.9% for the game including 9-of-20 three-pointers. The Valiants were out-rebounded 39-31 but committed just nine turnovers.
Chadd Barnes led Rutgers-Newark with 18 points, one of four Scarlet Raiders (9-1) to finish in double-figures. Quran Wimberley had 15 points off the bench on 5-of-8 three-point shooting, helping the visitors shoot 41.2% from beyond the arc.
Manhattanville (9-2, 3-0 Skyline) has no time to rest on the victory, however, with ninth-ranked William Paterson coming to town for a Saturday showdown at 1:00 p.m. The Valiants fell by 20 points to the Pioneers, the defending NJAC Champions, last season.
Newspaper Box Score Rutgers-Newark vs Manhattanville 1-3-07 6:00 p.m. at Purchase, N.Y. (Kennedy Gym) At Purchase, N.Y. (Kennedy Gym) MANHATTANVILLE 84, RUTGERS-NEWARK 79 RUTGERS-NEWARK (9-1) Chadd Barnes 8-16 2-4 18; Quran Wimberley 5-8 0-0 15; Jermont Horton 4-14 2-4 11; Afolabi Ajumobi 3-5 4-10 10; Phillipe Slater 4-8 0-0 9; David Cherry 2-8 2-2 6; Derryck Alexander 2-4 2-4 6; Deshawn Singleton 1-1 0-0 2; Laquan Jones 1-1 0-0 2; Ryan Gillens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-65 12-24 79. MANHATTANVILLE (9-2) Donte Chisolm 7-12 1-2 19; Cody Moffett 5-9 7-11 18; John DiBetta 4-11 2-2 11; Brian Fink 3-4 3-4 10; Justin Morris 4-9 1-2 9; Joe Cooke 3-5 0-0 7; Brendan Flynn 1-2 2-2 5; Eduardo Huezo 1-3 1-1 3; Jason Walsh 1-1 0-0 2; DeVon Barnett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-57 17-24 84. Rutgers-Newark................ 38 41 - 79 Manhattanville................ 38 46 - 84 3-point goals-Rutgers-Newark 7-17 (Quran Wimberley 5-8; Jermont Horton 1-2; Phillipe Slater 1-3; David Cherry 0-1; Chadd Barnes 0-3), Manhattanville 9-20 (Donte Chisolm 4-7; Joe Cooke 1-2; Cody Moffett 1-2; Brian Fink 1-2; John DiBetta 1-3; Brendan Flynn 1-2; Justin Morris 0-2). Fouled out--Rutgers-Newark-None, Manhattanville-None. Rebounds-Rutgers-Newark 39 (Jermont Horton 7; David Cherry 7), Manhattanville 31 (Donte Chisolm 8). Assists-Rutgers-Newark 15 (Phillipe Slater 4; Laquan Jones 4), Manhattanville 17 (Donte Chisolm 8). Total fouls-Rutgers-Newark 20, Manhattanville 15. A-125